12/27/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARLINVILLE - When Staunton started out their championship semifinal game against Litchfield on Saturday night, some early shots (including lay ups) were not going in.

The fact of the matter is that Coach Ty Laux's club missed 11 of their field goal attempts in the opening stanza.

That struggle from the field soon changed for the Bulldogs.

The defending tournament champions got hot in a hurry and their defensive temperature was too much for the Purple Panthers to endure.

Behind 22-points from junior guard Isiah Laux, mostly from long-range, and a defensive blanket that covered up Litchfield, the Bulldogs blew open the game and coasted into Monday night's championship battle with a 69-31 victory that wasn't really as close as those numbers would indicate.

Staunton, the current ABV 2A top-ranked squad, sits at 9-1 on the season and will face Hardin Calhoun in the championship contest slated for a 7:30 pm tip-off.

The Dogs, as it says on their jerseys, forced 15 first half turnovers and they showed no mercy until the continuous clock ticked away the final quarter.

“That's been our bread-and-butter the last couple of years,” said Coach Laux about his team's defense. “We don't have a lot of size out there but you know, when we make up for it with quickness and our kids can keep their guy in front of them. We make people shoot over the top of us. You know, we're pretty good at holding teams to one shot, and I thought we'd get a pretty good job of that tonight.”

Nine different Staunton players scored with Laux being followed by senior Bryce Coalson with 14-points.

From long-range, the duo of Laux (six) and Coalson (four) connected on 10 of the club's 11 made 3-point shots.

Each hit two from deep in the first quarter as they turned a 5-5 tie early on into a 18-5 lead with 13-consecutive points.

Junior Luke Moore finished with 13-points, including the other made 3-pointers.

Aaron Bodner, one of the team leaders for Staunton, left the game in the first quarter with an injury and didn't return.

In his place some others stepped up.

Jeremiah Graham, another junior, added six-points, including a score in the first quarter and a nice assist on one of the 3-point shots nailed down by Coalson.

“He (Bodner) got banged up there a little bit (thigh bruise) in the first half and then Jeremiah, he's sick, so he wasn't, he wasn't quite his normal self tonight. He has the flu and he was in the bathroom at halftime,” Coach Laux said about Bodner and Graham.

Litchfield head coach Daniel Bonnell burned some early timeouts but it didn't stop the onslaught.

The Purple Panthers saw their mark for the season slip to 9-4 with the loss and they will now face the hosts on Monday night in the third place game.

No player for Litchfield reached double-digits with two different players scoring eight-points; senior Sam Schwab and junior Landon Wernsing.

Defensively there wasn't much Litchfield could do as Laux scored ten of his points in the second quarter.

A drive down the baseline for a reverse lay up and another 3-pointer from the top of the arc were part of a 10-0 run to extend the second quarter lead.

A steal and fast break lay up caused Coach Bonnell to call his third timeout with his Panthers in trouble at 31-10 with 5:04 left in the half.

When the Bulldogs weren't scoring from the 3-point line, they were getting to the basket.

Consecutive scores at the rim by Moore and Laux were on back door cuts.

Moore added to the points with a rebound bucket and then ended the half on an inside score while being fouled.

Although he missed the free throw, the Bulldogs were in charge at 42-15 at the break.

Staunton added three more 3-point shots in the third quarter and by the time the game reached the fourth quarter, it was no longer contest.

Laux hit two of the third quarter treys and when reserve junior Peyton Luketich scored on a rebound, it was 59-23 heading to the final eight minutes that went by pretty fast.

The tale of the tape showed the Bulldogs hit 27-of-61 from the floor, 11-of-29 from long-distance and they committed just seven-turnovers with three of them coming late by reserves watching the clock tick.

Litchfield ended up just 11-of-40 from the floor, 4-of-21 from the 3-point line, and committed 21 total turnovers.

The Purple Panthers held a slight 31-28 rebounding edge but they managed just four offensive rebounds when they needed some second chances.

“We got the championship last year, and there is nothing better than going back-to-back over here, and that was one of our goals to begin the year. So we put ourselves in position to do that,” said Coach Laux.

The two teams battling in the second championship semifinal on Saturday night had played on even terms through the first three quarters.

Carlinville held a slight 40-39 advantage heading to the final frame with their sights on a championship game in their own event.

However the Cavaliers offense disappeared in the final quarter and this was the opportunity that Hardin Calhoun needed.

The Warriors went on a 21-2 final quarter scoring blitz, turning a one-point deficit into a shocking 60-42 semifinal victory.

Coach Casey Longnecker's club is now 7-1 on the season and they forced a dismal offensive performance in the final minutes by Carlinville.

The Cavaliers, who are now 7-3, led most of the third quarter and were up 40-35 before the levee caved in for Coach David Suits' team.

Calhoun scored the final four points of the third quarter and the first 16-points of the final period.

Calhoun was led by 6-3 junior guard/forward Lane Eilerman with 23-points, including a fast break one-handed slam dunk to close the third quarter scoring that helped shift the momentum.

He added nine-points in the fourth and his teammates kicked in the rest for the Warriors.

Senior Jack Zipperich pitched in 17 additional points for the club and junior Gage Kiel added 11-points, nine of which came in the second half rally.

Eilerman was a key part of the Calhoun football playoff run back in the fall and he and his teammates have their eyes locked in on bringing home some hardwood hardware, regular and postseason.

Carlinville was led by senior guard Triston Thompson with 16-points and senior Sawyer Smith with 10.

Senior Tate Duckels was held to just two-points before he fouled out in the early moments of the fourth quarter.

“Our half-court defense was arguably as good as it has been all season. I mean, there's 60-points up there on the scoreboard but that doesn't indicate the effort on the defensive end. I thought tonight was as good as we could play defensively,” said Coach Suits. “We just couldn't get one (basket in the fourth quarter) and their athleticism changes some of that but we've seen athletic teams. Carrollton is athletic and Metro-East Lutheran are the longest we've seen but they (Calhoun) were just better than us tonight.”

Carlinville had a strong first half and led by nine at 26-17 with 2:10 left in the half as Thompson scored 10 of his points in the second quarter, which ended with the Warriors up 28-23.

The Cavaliers didn't handle the ball well in the second half, committing seven of their turnovers in the third quarter but they managed to make 4-of-8 field goal attempts and were clinging to the one-point lead heading to the fourth.

Hardin Calhoun put together its run with a Zipperich starting the final quarter scoring inside while senior Rodney Johnson added a rebound score.

A fast-break by Zipperich and a conventional three-point play by Eilerman while being fouled pushed the Warriors to a 48-40 lead.

Good, Eilerman and Zipperich scored consecutive points and Eilerman scored again on a lob pass inside for a 56-40 advantage with 1:42 left.

The only made basket by Carlinville in the final eight minutes was a rebound basket by senior Cameron Cooper.

The final four points for Calhoun came from a score by Gage Kiel and another lay in by Eilerman.

Hardin Calhoun came up with 14 offensive rebounds in the game, and a 32-26 advantage overall on the boards.

The Warriors launched a lot of shots on Saturday night, hitting 25-of-62 overall, and 2-of-11 from the 3-point line wasn't great.

But perhaps the biggest difference on the night was turnovers as Carlinville ended up with 21 compared to just eight for Calhoun.

The Cavaliers were 14-of-39 shooting the ball, 1-of-10 from long range.

“They've got 10 guys that they play and they run them in and out. They're all 6-3, they come at you with every angle and in the first half we didn't allow many run outs,” said Coach Suits. “And then in the fourth we were gassed.”

Bunker Hill is now 8-2 on the season after pulling away from Gillespie by outscoring them 32-9 in the final 16 minutes for the victory.

Four different players score double-figures in the contest, led by 14-points each from seniors Cole Yates and Carter Beck.

Junior Bryce Yates added 13 for Bunker Hill, with 11 of the points coming in the final two quarters.

Junior Peter Jarden scored 10 and senior Dean Throne pitched in nine-points.

Gillespie fell to 0-11 on the season for first year head coach Jake Kellebrew.

The Miners stayed close in the first half but they managed just two made field goals in the second half.

Two Gillespie players; senior Collin Griffith and junior Mitchell Clark, scored seven-points each.

Junior Michael Marcacci and sophomore Xzavier Spencer added five-points apiece.